6 Days at Warneton

On the 29th July 1917 the 44th Battalion along with the 41st Battalion were designated to hold enemy outposts near Warneton recently captured by the 42nd and 43rd Battalions. By the 31st July, the enemy positions were fully captured and the 44th Battalion was brought up to hold on to the gains.

“The rain had converted the trenches into great lengths of muddy drains. The communication trench leading up to the line was knee-deep almost its whole length, and much too deep to be used in quite a number of places. The front line was in no better condition. The action of the water had undermined the walls of the trenches, and every hour saw the destruction of some portion of the parapet or parados which slipped into the trench”. – Captain Longmore

“Upon arrival at the front line, the exhausted men were dismayed at the miserable condition of the trenches. The revetting was poorly constructed, with the result that mud oozed from the trench walls and collected on the duckboards. The floors of the trenches were covered in mud that was between a few centimetres to one metre deep in places”. – Neville Browning OAM 

The 44th Battalion came under intense artillery fire (including gas) and rain that increased as the days went by. On all the other parts of the front the Germans were losing and as such they focused all their artillery on the 44th Battalion where they had a chance of forcing a withdrawal. Trenches became unusable and soldiers could not go to sleep due to being soaked and the unavailability of anywhere to lie down. On the night of the 3rd August, after having endured four days at the front line and two days near it, the 44th Battalion was relieved by the 16th Battalion (another West Australian unit). 

Around 29 soldiers from the 44th Battalion were killed during the battle, mostly due to the heavy artillery fire (at least 19 deaths were solely from artillery). It was remembered as hell on earth and for the men who went through it, they reckoned it was the worst engagement of the war. The engagement at Warneton ended the saga of Messines which had cost the lives of nearly 120 men from the Battalion since the beginning of June. One Distinguished Conduct Medal and a Bar to a Military Medal were awarded for actions in the battle.

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The Germans attempted the occasional patrol during the first few days, resulting in the death of one of them. When the other battalions launched their assault, a few retreating Germans were fired upon by 44th Battalion machine gunners which practically wiped them out.

On the 31st July, the 44th Battalion moved up to the captured positions and came under accurate artillery fire.

“McAuliffe was killed by a pineapple together with J.A. Doig and C.E. Withell. These three were kneeling in a little sap and I was digging near. The shell blew McAuliffe’s head off and I was knocked silly.” – Private Percy J. Danaher

“Shivering men crouched in the mire for hours on end, under the sufferance of the unrelenting enemy barrage and teeming rain. Hot rations could not be brought forward due to the impassable condition of the communication trenches, although the transport section (Lt W.J. Hunt) worked unceasingly” – Neville Browning OAM

“Private J.W. Florence was on a working party, just outside the trench, and was carrying wire. I was close to him when he was wounded by a whizz-bang, and terribly wounded he was, for one of his legs and an arm were nearly blown off” – Private John E. Griffiths

Artillery fire on the 2nd and 3rd August fired from a German Granatenwerfer was extremely accurate and deadly.

“Fritz pelted the front line and supports with everything from bullets to minnies. Parados were blown out and parapets blown in. The whole area was spouting geysers of mud, duckboards, fragments of timbers and bodies. The swirling smoke clouds were constantly split with vicious stabs of flame as huge shrapnel shells burst with crashing detonations. Naturally the men thought the fierce bombardment a prelude to an attack. At the end of twenty-five minutes, one man in a queer high-pitched noise kept shouting “Times up Fritz!”. 

Those splendid men, the stretcher-bearers, were kept very busy. In one particular fire-bay Jimmy was perhaps the calmest of the crowd. Crouched on the fire-step, his rifle with fixed bayonet between his knees, he kept taking his wife’s photo from his pocket. He would gaze at it for a few seconds and then replace it. At forty-five minutes, the bombardment ceased as suddenly as it had commenced. As the survivors of the garrison, with frazzled nerves, started to effect repairs, one chap said, “Think you were having a last look at the old woman Jimmy?” He replied seriously, “No it wasn’t exactly that. But it is like this. Whenever I have a look at her, I think things here aren’t too bad.”” – Private Robert J. MacDonald. 

The final action of the battle was when the Germans launched an assault supported by an artillery barrage at 1:45 a.m. on the 4th August. The enemy were soundly defeated having suffered heavy casualties for the loss of only two Australians. During a lull in the barrage, the eerie sound of wounded German soldiers moaning and calling for assistance split the darkness. At dawn, the enemy was permitted to remove their wounded. 

“Every man was soaked through and was standing or sleeping in a marsh. It was a work of energy to keep a rifle in a state fit to use.” – William Thomas, journalist for the Daily Mail.

Acts of Bravery

Sergeant H.M. Cook was in command of a forward post. At 1:45 a.m. on the 4th August, a platoon of Germans attacked his position. He drove them off with accurately fired rifle grenades all whilst under heavy fire. Cook also arranged for the evacuation of his wounded men. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for this action.

Private C.B. Pearson MM (Stretcher Bearer) On the 31st July was the first man at the scene of a devastating artillery barrage. He immediately began tending to the casualties even whilst under heavy shell fire. He evacuated several men and only stopped once he himself was wounded. He had previously been awarded the Military Medal in the Messines Raid (June 1916) and for this action received a Bar to his MM.

Deaths

29th July: 0

30th July: 3

31st July: 5

1st August: 11

2nd August: 6

3rd August: 2

4th August: 2

Sources

Eggs-A-Cook: The story of the Forty-Fourth; War as the digger fought it, Chapter X, Page 57-58 by Capt C. Longmore.

The Westralian Battalion: The Unit History Of The 44th Battalion AIF, Chapter VII, Pages 154-158, 161-162 by Neville Browning OAM